Presently, program content information, for example, song title, artist, record label, etc., is communicated to the customer/listener by announcers or disc jockeys (DJs). In the case of video programs transmitted by broadcast means, video text messages are presented between programs and during interruptions of programs. In the case of many premium services, it is undesirable to interrupt programs for presentation of program content information. It may also be undesirable to have any form of announcer or DJ between programs or selections of music.
The announcers or interruptions of a program may be undesirable in some services. Nevertheless, it is highly desirable to communicate program content information. Frustration of customers, and possible loss of revenue due to subscription cancellation can occur if a subscriber has no method of knowing the title, composer, or artist of the particular selection of music. To the music industry, identification of the recording label and the musical selection is critical to the sale of recordings. Currently, a subscriber viewing a premium video program must consult a separate listing, tune to a different channel, or wait till the end of the program for its identification.
Similarly, the cable television industry is currently introducing audio-only services. Program content information is printed in a separate listing. These cable "radio stations" may play a continuous succession of musical selections without commercial interruptions. These services may not use a "disc-jockey" to identify the musical or other selections.
It can be a frustrating experience to enjoy a piece of music provided by an entertainment service, only to have the service provider fail to identify the piece. To lovers of music, having such information as music title, composer, artist and record label is vital. Without this information, the service will be reduced to the level of generic background music.
Indeed, the prior art has recognized the requirement to communicate program content information associated with a broadcast performance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,308 to Dutton describes an information broadcasting system that provides a radio listener with program information concerning the song and the performing artist for a broadcast performance. A primary storage information system stores program information associated with a broadcast performance. During the broadcast performance, a portion of the stored program information is selected and encoded for introduction to the standard programming information being broadcast by a broadcast transmitter. A separate receiver, typically an AM/FM radio, receives the broadcasting signals, including the encoded program information, transmitted by the broadcast transmitter. When a listener hears a performance of interest, the listener manually actuates a processor, which is coupled to the receiver, to introduce the selected program information associated with the performance into a memory. At a later time, the listener can retrieve the selected program information from the memory for presentation by a visual display.
Likewise, an article entitled "Digital Signal Accompanies FM Broadcast To Give Station Information To The Listener," published in Electronics, Volume 51, No. 21, dated Oct. 12, 1978, pages 68 and 70, describes a circuit for FM receivers that demodulates a program information signal, which is transmitted with a regular broadcast signal, to provide a visual display of tuning information, including the identification of a tuned station, the station's location, and the type of music being broadcast by the tuned station.
Common to both the Dutton and the Electronics systems is the use of a display to communicate program information associated with a performance to a listener and thereby, in essence, provide the function of a DJ for the convenience of the listener. Such a visual display could be built into the receiver itself, as described by the prior art, or it could be a separate display unit that would connect to an interface port of the receiver.
The problem with such displays is that, unless they are very large and therefore costly, they cannot be easily placed within reading distance of the listener. Long cables for the display would be difficult to route in a typical living room, and one need only look at the lack of success of video cassette recorder (VCR) wired remote controls to convince oneself that such a tethered display would not be optimum.
In contrast, wireless remote controls have brought great convenience to the control of consumer products. Highly intelligent remote controls with liquid crystal displays (LCD) are available. Programmable and universal "learning" remote controls are available that emulate the functions of multiple other controls. A universal "learning" remote control typically receives control code information from another remote control unit during a learning mode and displays the control functions available to the user.
Examples of such universal learning remote controls include U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,887 to Welles and related U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,848 to Ehlers, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,081 to Smith. Welles, Ehlers, and Smith describe reconfigurable remote control systems that include an infrared (IR) transmitter for transmitting a control signal with a defined transmission protocol, a receiver for receiving the control signal from a separate remote control system during a learning mode, and a display to indicate operational status and to prompt the user to input instructions during control operations and the learning mode. The typical transmission protocol for such IR remote control transmitters is defined by the number of pulses within a signal burst and the time period of each pause between pulses. A logic 1 is typically defined by a first pulse count within a predefined time period and a logic 0 is typically defined by a second pulse count within the predefined time period. Accordingly, the pulse count and the pause duration data define the transmission protocol for the transmitted control signal.
Many typical wireless remote control system, such as the programmable and universal learning remote controls described above, do not include a separate receiver to receive information from the device under control because such control systems only transmit a coded control signal at a relatively slow data rate of 50-100 baud. In general, such prior art systems do not provide for a two-way communications link between the remote control and the controllable device, nor do many remote controls receive and display any information obtained from the device under control. In addition, many remote control systems do not utilize an error detection system for the detection of an inaccurate transmission because such systems transmit the control signal at a relatively slow data rate, thereby eliminating any requirement for an error detection system. Consequently, a requirement exists for a remote control system that communicates with the device under control to provide a hand-held electronic DJ display for receiving a program information signal at a rapid data rate and for displaying such program information associated with a program selection for the convenience of a listener and, furthermore, which is capable of controlling a group of controllable devices.
Such a remote control would require a higher data rate for communications than the typical universal remote control because of the increased quantity of data, specifically program information data, provided to the remote control by the controllable device. In view of the increased quantity of data suggested by the communication of program information, an error detection scheme is also necessary to insure the accuracy of the data received by the remote control. Furthermore, to avoid the requirement for multiple remote control systems associated with a set of controllable consumer systems, a listener would benefit from the convenience provided by a wireless remote control system that includes a display for program information and, furthermore, operates to control multiple controllable devices.